This invention relates to programmable logic devices that include dedicated multipliers, and more particularly to such programmable logic devices in which the multipliers are used to perform multiplications of different sizes.
Programmable logic devices are well known. Early programmable logic devices were one-time configurable. For example, configuration may have been achieved by “blowing”—i.e., opening—fusible links. Alternatively, the configuration may have been stored in a programmable read-only memory. Those devices generally provided the user with the ability to configure the devices for “sum-of-products” (or “P-TERM”) logic operations. Later, such programmable logic devices incorporating erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) for configuration became available, allowing the devices to be reconfigured.
Still later, programmable logic devices incorporating static random access memory (SRAM) elements for configuration became available. These devices, which also can be reconfigured, store their configuration in a nonvolatile memory such as an EPROM, from which the configuration is loaded into the SRAM elements when the device is powered up. These devices generally provide the user with the ability to configure the devices for look-up-table-type logic operations.
As programmable logic devices have become larger, it has become more common to add dedicated blocks to perform particular functions that have become more common in programmable logic devices. For example, at some point, such devices began to be provided with embedded blocks of random access memory that could be configured by the user to act as random access memory, read-only memory, or logic (such as P-TERM logic); such embedded blocks might even be provided in different sizes on the same device. Other types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM) or shift registers, also have been provided. More recently, multiplier circuits have been provided on programmable logic devices. Whereas in prior programmable logic devices space was not available for dedicated multipliers, current larger devices can accommodate multipliers. This spares users from having to create multipliers by configuring the available logic. Moreover, as described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,538,470, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, specialized multiplier blocks may be provided including multipliers and other arithmetic circuits such as adders and/or subtracters and/or accumulators. Such blocks are sometimes referred to as “multiplier-accumulator blocks” or “MAC blocks.” Such blocks, for example, may be useful in digital signal processing, such as is performed in audio applications, and therefore such specialized multiplier blocks also are sometimes referred to as “DSP blocks.”
Such specialized multiplier blocks typically are capable of operations up to a certain size. For example, a specialized multiplier block may be provided that can perform a single 36-bit-by-36-bit multiplication operation, or up to four individual 18-bit-by-18-bit multiplication operations which can be combined by the aforementioned adders. Such a specialized multiplier block can be used for performing multiplication operations of any size up to 36 bits by 36 bits. However, it may not be efficient to perform multiplication operations of a certain size. For example, if the specialized multiplier block is used to perform a 24-bit-by-24-bit multiplication operation, there will be unused resources in the block that may not be able to be used efficiently for any other kind of operation.
It would be desirable to be able to be able to provide a programmable logic device that can more flexibly utilize specialized functional blocks.